Soulpaint
by Cattyclam29
Summary: Everyone paints their soulmate when they're in high school, sometimes before, rarely after. Keith is convinced he doesn't have a soulmate as he continues on in life after high school. Lance is convinced he's going to die alone and never find his fated soulmate, watching everyone else find love and being told to give up on what he can't have. Klance AU. Rating might go up.


**Helloooo it's meeee and idk how I'm even alive after season 7. I think my brain melted. So much happened and I actually cried so much like ? Anyway, I support DW and what their plan is for the show. Remember to do the same and not harass the VA or crew. Check out my Instagram- mimi_l_imim. Anyway, I own nothing blah blah blah story time.**

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"-eith. Hey, Keith!"

I snapped back to attention. Pidge was smirking at me. Why was she smirking at me? My eyes narrowed. "What?" I asked, suspicion clear in my tone. I'd had my fair share of pranks from her and had to keep my guard up whenever she gave that confident smirk.

She just grinned and rolled her eyes. "I was talking about my latest project and you zoned out once I started talking Physics."

I felt heat rising to my face. That had happened three times already. "Sorry, yeah go on." I sipped my coffee and scanned the cafe again. It was mostly empty at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday, and the cloudy weather outside made the beach look deserted. I immediately started brainstorming ways to capture the cool misty fog over the water in a painting, not noticing Pidge's exasperated look.

"Look, Mr. Artist, I'm gonna end up walking away if you can't stay focused on anything I say for five seconds. Have you been getting any sleep?" Pidge startled me back. I'd been thinking of using odd colors to mix with the fog on the sand and missed her entire lecture on rocket science. Literally. Pidge went to a huge college nearby widely known around the world to give the best education on all things space and E.T.

I sighed. "Do I really look that bad?"

Pidge shook her head. "No, you look dashing and emo as ever, you just have the attention span of a goldfish."

"Don't goldfish have crazy long attention spans? Like longer than humans?" I muttered, ignoring her kind-of-compliment.

"I don't know, I'm not a goldfish. Shut up." She rolled her eyes behind her huge, round glasses and sipped her coffee.

I drank from my own cup. "I don't understand how you can drink that much coffee." I said, eyeing her coffee. "That's like the same thing as a trenta from Starbucks."

Pidge grinned from behind the rim of her drink. "This has six espresso shots, Keith. I'm made of coffee. I live off of this stuff."

I blinked at her. "How the hell are you alive… and, like, fit?"

Her smirk grew with the compliment. "Science has some physical effort."

I rolled my eyes but let a small grin slip.

My gaze landed on two high schoolers sitting in a corner, talking and smiling, obviously on a date. I could tell from the way the girl kept touching her hair and glancing at the boy's eyes that they were new soulmates.

Lucky them, I guess.

I don't have a soulmate because I never had the sudden blinding urge to paint whoever the universe deemed my other half like everyone else on the planet did. And that's ok. I don't know what I'm missing, and I grew accustomed to that gaping hole in my chest.

I turned back to Pidge and nodded along to what she was saying, not actually absorbing any words. I really tried to focus on what she was saying, but it wasn't working, so I did what I usually did when this happened. Acted like I was listening and then later would ask again what she meant about one simple thing bordering the topic to get her to tell me what she had said.

Pidge took one final, long sip from her huge coffee and finished the cup. "Heyyyy, Keithy. You should get me another one of these." She smiled up at me innocently.

"Dude, you're going to have a heart attack before you turn twenty." I shook my head. "I get that you're a child genius and all but you don't have to throw yourself away like all of the other college students."

Of course, she just stuck out her bottom lip and looked at me with puppy dog eyes- she knew that was my weakness- and then I was walking toward the register in a huff, holding her empty cup. The cafe was odd. It was on a corner, right across the street from an unpopular beach, and had wide windows all around to give the perfect view of the beach from all angles at all times. The register was up front near the entrance and there was more seating up there- most usually taken up by newcomers or tourists. But Pidge and I had been coming here for years and knew that the best seats were around the bend of the barista counter, facing directly towards the sea. It was sometimes hard to get through when the cafe was surprisingly busy, but now all was quiet.

I walked over to the cashier, Hunk, another one of our friends, and told him what the little gremlin wanted. He rolled his eyes and echoed my concerns on Pidge's health, but turned to make her drink anyway. "I'm off in half an hour, if you guys want to hang out." Hunk said over his shoulder.

"Yeah, that sounds-"

Suddenly my vision became hazy and I knew, I KNEW what was happening. I stumbled back, barely registering Hunk's concern. I raced for my book bag, which even after all the years of hopeless acceptance, held the high quality paper that would keep soulmate paintings safe forever. I snatched the paper and my pencil in a blur and started sketching, hardly looking at the paper because the image I needed flashed on the back of my eyelids. Deep, deep ocean-like eyes grinned from a cheerful tan face. A freckled, pointed nose and symmetrical full lips joined the beautifully masculine face. Chestnut hair, cropped but not short, fell around his face, framing it perfectly. Straight teeth shone through a crooked grin, almost a smirk. A lean neck tucked into a high-collared blue sweater. I pulled out my tiny pack of paints that the government issued with the soulmate paper and my own brush. I grabbed the plate my pastry sat on and threw the food aside; wiped it off with a napkin in a trance before mixing the colors to perfectly capture the sun-kissed gold of his skin. I painted quickly, with even strokes, but was completely unaware of what I was doing. My body had a mind of its own and all I could do was concentrate on the picture of my love and let the rest of me do what it wanted. I spent an extra-long time on his eyes, which held so much depth that it was near impossible to capture. Soon the haze lifted, and I was left with a startled Pidge, half of the cafe staring at me and a painting of my soulmate in front of me. "Keith." She whispered. "It... it happened."

I just nodded, staring at the painting.

Pidge looked around and saw everyone staring. "Okaayyyy... let's maybe go." She drawled before quickly gathering up her stuff and helping me put my things into my bag- except for the painting, which I held to my chest protectively. Pidge grabbed her drink and gave Hunk a quick "Soulmate," as explanation and hustled us out of the cafe and down the street to Shiro's apartment complex.

Once safe in the apartment, Pidge exploded. "Oh my God Keith!" She cried. "I fucking knew it!" Pidge punched the air and let out a victorious cry. Meanwhile I was still in shock, staring at the painting in my shaking hands. "Matt, Adam, Shiro! Get your asses out here and LOOK AT KEITH'S SOULMATE!" Pidge screeched.

There was a loud crashing and many curses from down the hall that finally startled me out of my stupor. Shiro threw his bedroom door open, Adam and Matt stumbling out behind him, all trying to see what the commotion was. Shiro ended up tripping over Adam and sending them both to the floor of the living room while Matt hopped over the back of the couch to hold my shoulders and peer at the painting I clutched.

"Woah..." Matt breathed. "Holy fuck, Shiro. You're gonna shit your pants." The incredulous laugh Matt let out made me nervous. Shiro helped Adam up and hurried to Matt's side. He stared at the painting. And stared. And stared. I started getting worried.

"Holy shit, Keith." Shiro grinned. "I know this guy!"

"Y-you do?!" I blanched. "How old is he? How-How do you know him?"

Shiro pouted. "Keith I'm only three years older than you, stop acting like I'm an old man. And he's your age, actually. He went to our high school, played water polo, baseball, total arts kid, kinda loud, super sweet and caring."

My eyes grew wide. "I never met him and he went to our school?!" I gaped. Adam popped up by my right shoulder.

"Hey, Keith it's ok. I didn't meet Takashi until freshman year of college and at first I couldn't see his face because I needed glasses and didn't know it. I finally painted him but couldn't see his face and thought I had fucked up the painting." Adam chuckled softly at the memory. "I went crying to Shiro and he literally laughed in my face out of panic."

I felt my shoulders relax. "How come I never knew about that part?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Shiro.

"I guess it never came up." Shiro shrugged.

"Anyway, can we talk about Keith's soulmate?!" Pidge interjected, trying to grab the picture from my death grip. I quickly moved the painting out of her reach, smirking down at the extended hand that only reached my chin. "Damn you, shortness!" Pidge growled, giving up.

We all laughed at that. Shiro sobered up first, turning to me and setting a hand on my shoulder.

I let him carefully take the incredibly detailed painting from my hands and look at it in wonder. "I guess your art skills still transferred over into your work. You have a much clearer picture than me and my nonexistent skills." He grinned at me. I bit my lip, hesitating.

"Does he still live around here? Did you ever talk to him?" The questions shot out of my mouth before I could stop them. Shiro chuckled at my excitement.

"Yeah, he's still around. I think he's supposed to move out with Hunk soon, actually. Somewhere close, of course. We've kept in touch, since we both surf."

I smiled, thinking of his sun-kissed skin and lean face. I really couldn't believe this had finally happened. After so many years of being told not to give up, but doing just that, telling myself that I was meant to be alone. And here I had a soulmate. I had a soulmate.

"Shiro." I breathed, gingerly taking the painting from his offered prosthetic arm. "Who is he?"

He grinned, glancing at Adam, Matt, and Pidge before looking at me. "Keith, your soulmate's name is Lance McClain."

I paced the floor in my room. What do I do now? I knew who my soulmate was, and I knew where he was. I just didn't know what the hell to do. Do I call him? Is this a calling-type of situation? What if I just texted him?

I glanced at the number Shiro had given me before he left with Adam to get celebratory chinese food. Pidge had told me she had to go work on her project and Matt, ever the sweet genius older brother, had offered to help. Which left me alone, wondering what I was supposed to do.

My hand shook when I glanced down at my phone, Lance's number typed in and ready. I groaned and sat on my bed with my head in my hands. What the hell? How do people go about this? I'd never been good with people. Anything I say comes across stilted and angry or sarcastic and mean. In actuality I'm just awkward, and have been kicked around so much my entire life that my go-to defense mechanism is being ready for a fight.

The door to the apartment opened and closed. "Keith?" I heard Shiro call. I sighed and stuffed my phone into my pocket before walking towards the living room. Shiro was setting two brown paper bags full of food on the counter while Adam was scanning the receipt, making sure they'd gotten everything they'd ordered. Adam always did that, ever since that one time when I was in fifth grade and they forgot his wontons. Oh boy, had there been hell to pay.

I wrapped my arms close to my chest as if it would stop the nervous hammering of my heart. Shiro looked up at me and knew immediately. "You didn't text him yet." His eyebrows drew together in confusion. "What's wrong?" He asked, crossing to me and settling his real hand on my shoulder.

I looked down, closing my eyes briefly and taking a small, steadying breath. "I-I don't know. I don't know what to say. What do you say to your soulmate when you've never met face-to-face and only got their number through someone you both know?" I looked up at Shiro's small smile.

"Don't worry, Keith. We'll help you." He looked to Adam, who grinned and nodded.

I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. "Thanks." I sighed, smiling up at Shiro. "Now about that chinese food…"

I sat on the small blue couch, empty food containers strewn haphazardly across the floor where Adam lay, looking up at Shiro, who sat next to me. "Ok so," Shiro started, taking my phone from my still hands. "Let's see...'Hi, this is Keith Kogane. I'm your soulmate'?" He offered. I shrugged.

"I have no freakin' idea. Just don't make me sound dumber than I usually am." I rolled my eyes. Shiro calls me a blonde half the time, teasing and saying I dyed my hair black.

Adam frowned up at both of us. "Do you even know how to be smooth? Give it here." He held out his hand for the phone, which Shiro gave to him. "Ok, 'Hey, this is Keith Kogane. Shiro said he knows you pretty well and offered me your number. I guess we're soulmates'?" I shrugged again and Shiro nodded in approval.

Adam hit send. I suddenly got hit by a wave of nausea, feeling an icy fist of panic grip my insides. I put a closed fist to my lips and breathed deeply, closing my eyes and focusing on the way my breathing moved my body instead of trying to control it. Shiro picked up on what was happening and placed a comforting hand on my back. The feeling passed soon and then we all waited in baited breath for a text back.

Thirty minutes passed with no reply. Then another. And another, After that I decided to go to bed for the night and see if he would have texted back in the morning. I bid Adam and Shiro goodnight and went to my room with a heavy cloud hanging low above me. I was about to fall asleep when my phone started buzzing. My eyes snapped open and hope race through my veins with adrenaline.

I stared at my phone screen for a good five minutes as a continuous stream of texts flowed through from none other than Lance McClain.

Lance: Oh my Gdo

Lance: Oh my GOD

Lance: HOLY CRAP!

Lance: I can't believe this!

Lance: You know Takashi?!

Lance: Oh my god Oh my god

Lance: DUDE

Lance: I've been told since high school that I wouldn't get a soulmate.

Lance: But you

Lance: You're real!

Lance: Right?

Lance: Holy crow I think I'm freaking out.

Lance: Yep. Freakout time.

Lance: Is it too late to call you? Can you Facetime rn? I want to make sure this is real and not an elaborate prank.

Lance: Because if this is a prank it's not funny. Not funny at all.

Lance: Uh, Keith?

Keith: Yeah haha no, this isn't a prank. Trust me, I had a mini freakout earlier when Shiro told me he knew you. And I didn't know you two were so close. He hardly ever tells anyone his real name

Lance: Heheh I thought I'd scared you away

Keith: Pfft nope. You're not getting rid of me that easy.

Lance: Yeah I've known your brother for a long time. We still catch up sometimes and see each other in the water.

Lance: Wow. Keith. We're soulmates.

Keith: I know, it's so weird to think that I have one. I'd been told so many times that I should have gotten my soulmate in high school that I really kind of just gave up on ever finding you.

Lance: Yeah I thought I was part of some weird epidemic where I would never find my soulmate.

Keith: I know that feeling. I can't Facetime right now, I might wake up Shiro and then he and Adam would be all over us. But you know Hunk, right? Shiro said you guys might end up rooming together soon.

Lance: Oh yeah, Hunk is like my best buddy. How do you know him?

Keith: Pidge, Matt Holt's little sister. We've been going to the coffee shop he works at for years. We started hanging out together when he and I had ceramics together senior year of high school. :)

Lance: Ohh you're the badass sculptor Hunk told me I would get along with. And I know Pidge too, the little gremlin.

Keith: Hahah I call her gremlin all the time! And what made me badass?

Lance: Well from what Hunk told me, you're super-freaky talented in all things art, you're super nice, maybe reserved but there's nothing wrong with that, and literally punched Mr. Iverson in the face. You're insanely badass.

Keith: Yeah, well, I don't usually take pride in punching people in the face, but I can never feel bad for Iverson.

Lance: Dude if you hadn't done it I would've loll

Keith: Oh my god I can imagine

Lance: So that coffee shop you were talking about

Keith: Yeah?

Lance: Well if you're not busy tomorrow, would you maybe want to get a drink, talk soulmates and all. ;)

My heart did a bellyflop. He wanted to get coffee!

Keith: Yeah, that sounds great!

Lance: Really? Awesome! Want to meet at 11?

Keith: Why, because that's the time we started painting each other? xD

Lance: Oh my god i haven't seen an xD since the eighth grade! We're clearly meant to annoy the hell out of Pidge forever. And also yes, about the time thing. I'm kind of surprised u remembered it

Keith: How could I forget my greatest painting ever?:)

Lance: Stop it's too late for me to be blushing

Keith: Haha, I'll see you in the morning, Lance

Lance: See you then, soulmate.

I bounced my leg under the table unconsciously as my nerves grew.

It was 10:45 and I hadn't seen Lance yet. Which, yeah I got there twenty minutes early, so that made sense. But I wake up at 7:00 every day to exercise and four hours is a long time to wait for something you've been waiting for all your life.

I pulled out my small sketchbook, scanning the cafe one last time before letting myself get immersed in my work. A familiar face flashed across the back of my eyelids, a different, brighter smile on his lean, tan face. I quickly got the sketch down and worked on layering colored pencils to perfection.

I'd nearly finished adding highlights and lowlights to his hair when I felt a feather-light touch on my shoulder.

Even with the gentleness I still jumped in my seat, looking up to find none other than Lance McClain smiling down at me. "Hi."

I felt heat rise to my face and tried my best to push it down, but I think my small, goofy smile ruined my attempts. "Hi." I echoed.

Lance had a small blush on his face as well, which made me feel a bit better. I started to stand up, but really didn't know what to do. Do I hug him? Shake his hand? Lance simply grinned and gently pushed my shoulder to tell me to stay sitting.

"Did you draw this just now?" He asked excitedly, leaning over to tap the edge of the page.

I blanched, embarrassed to be caught drawing him. "Um, yeah." I lifted a hand to scratch the back of my neck.

I risked a glance up at him to see stars in his eyes. "Wow you're really talented!" He beamed.

"Thanks. It's good to know my time pays off." I chuckled. This was much easier than I thought it might be. It was probably Lance himself, with his laid-back attitude and easy smiles. He definitely seemed like one of the beach and surf loving locals. "Here, want to go order coffee?" I offered, actually standing this time.

His smile was blinding. "Yeah, sounds great!"

Hunk wasn't working, but his grilfriend, Shay, was, and the knowing look she gave us told me that Hunk had told her everything. "Enjoy." She said in a high, teasing voice as she set out drinks on the counter. Lance started to pull out his wallet but I quickly payed for both drinks and grinned at him. He rolled his eyes but gave a small smile and "Thanks".

We cruised back to our table, a comfortable quiet blanketing us. Lance sipped his coffee, blue eyes twinkling at me, making my heart stutter. I quickly took a sip to hide my blush.

"So how long have you and Shiro known each other?" His question caught me by surprise. I blinked at him for a moment before processing what he asked.

"Oh, um we actually met when I was about thirteen. He joined a club at school that reached out to orphanages to provide good figures for kids to hang out with and look up to." I chuckled at the memory of seventeen-year-old Shiro. "I got paired up with him, and I guess we got super close. His parents loved having me around, especially since Shiro was due to leave for college soon, and ended up adopting me."

Lance's eyes were wide and earnest. "Wow, I totally thought you guys were blood related. You certainly look it." He smiled kindly. I couldn't help but melt. This was so weird. It took me a really long time to trust people. Hell, I still had trust issues with some friends I wasn't as close with.

I'd trained myself since I was seven to put up walls to protect myself- ever since my dad's death I trusted nobody completely. Of course, Shiro swooped in six years after and changed the way I looked at others. No longer were they threats, but normal people, just like me, having their own problems and lives, just like me.

But here was Lance, knocking down all of my defenses and leaving me like butter on a hot plate. I smiled back at Lance. "We get that a lot, actually. Pidge flipped when she found out. That was hilarious to watch, let me tell you." I laughed lightly.

"Oh man, I can imagine! She can be even more dramatic than me sometimes, and that takes a lot!" Lance placed a hand over his chest like he was offended.

"Mmm I don't know." I said in a high, teasing voice. He pouted at me for a second before his face cracked and then we were laughing. We kept talking, hopping from topic to topic, like surfing, my art, carving and board shaping, skating, rollercoasters that came into town annually and which was the best.

Our light banter sent thrills through my veins, the fun and playfulness felt so natural. Eventually the sky got darker and the coffee shop was due to close. I was amazed to find the hours we'd spent talking without realizing.

"Well, Mr. Soulmate. I had a really nice time hearing you blabber for a couple hours." Lance grinned cheekily at me as we walked out of the coffee shop, shouders brushing.

"Yeah it was nice to bond with you Mr. Soulmate." I shot back with a smirk.

"Hm not sure I remember any bonding. I think I'd remember that happening."

I pouted a bit at that. "You must have the memory of a goldfish, then." Lance put his hand on his chest like he was covering a bullet wound. I grinned. "Well next time I'll have to try harder."

Hope lit up his bright blue eyes. "How about five o'clock on Wednesday?"

I pretended to think about it, though my obvious answer was YES. "Hmm, yeeeaaaahhh, I guess." I drawled, shooting him a winning grin. We were close. Closer than before. The goofy grin and blush that slipped across his face surely matched my own. "I'll see you then, Lance." I said quietly, reaching out to take his hand and give it a soft squeeze, never breaking eye contact. I heard his breath hitch and smiled, letting his hand go. "Text me?" I promised. Lance nodded quickly, looking like a broken bobblehead. I chuckled. "See you Wednesday."

"See you." He breathed, tan skin dark with a blush and blue eyes brimming with light. I grinned one last time before stepping away and heading down the street toward my apartment.

"SHIRO!" I yelled as soon as I'd ran up the two flights of stairs and slammed the door behind me. His head snapped toward me so fast I was afraid he'd gotten whiplash.

"Oh my God! How was it?! Did you like him?" He hurried over from the kitchen counter, guiding me to the blue couch and sitting me down.

"It was… amazing. I'm not surprised we're soulmates, with how we hit it off." I smiled. "We were literally just talking at the coffee shop the entire time, but time flew by without us knowing." My face was definitely red now, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

"He's amazing." I smiled.

Shiro gaped at me. "Holy crap, Keith. I've never seen you smile so much. And you're blushing! Who are you? What have you done with Keith?!" He bumped my shoulder laughingly. I joined in, chuckling softly.

"We're going to meet up again on Wednesday." I said softly. Shiro brought me into a huge hug. I squirmed, not used to the contact, but gave in and hugged him back.

"I'm so proud of you." Shiro said quietly.

"Why?" I mumbled.

Shiro pulled back, holding my shoulders. "Because sometimes... sometimes, soulmates die before they can meet each other. I was so afraid that that might've happened to you. I was so afraid for you. And I'm so relieved and glad to see you so happy." There were small tears that shone in his eyes. I gave a small, understanding smile. He returned it right as Adam walked through the door.

"Aww did I miss the heart-touching bonding moment?" Adam complained, falling over the back of the couch to lay at Shiro's side. 

"Sadly, yes." Shiro shook his head teasingly. Adam sighed dramatically.

"I miss all the fun."

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 **SEASON 7 SPOILERS!**

 **I relate to Lance so much this season like- being ignored all the time? Check. Not being taken seriously? Check. Making self-deprecating jokes and joking about death? Check. ALSO! I can't believe Lance just accepted his death like that and the Red swoops in outta nowhere like I bawled out of relief when he turned out ok. And I can't explain the fear I felt when they wouldn't show us the paladins during Shiro's speech like i legit thought they all died and I was about to start throwing shit around like an ape ok. This season emotionally wrecked me but I somehow found it in me- maybe it's the desperation for Klance- to write a nice klance fic. Well, rant over. I'm going to go hang out with Adam because in my heart and fics he's alive. P.S. Please stop harassing the crew over "queerbaiting" because that's not what happened. I'm as upset as anyone else about Adam but it serves as part of the show somehow, maybe we just don't see it yet. Please, if you can't get over Adam's death, there's no reason for you to post angry and hateful remarks or threats to the creative minds that made this wonderful show. If you're going to threaten people to get your way like a toddler then you will not be supported by the fandom. Grow up. I'm younger than most others in this fandom and I can see that. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.**

 **Spoilers done,,,,,,,**

 **Thanks for reading, follow/fav/review for more :)**


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